Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) gave employees a list of procedures to do in the event of immigration authorities entering a school. This was due to President Trump’s administration rescinding a policy that protects schools from immigration enforcement.
This policy prevented U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement from taking enforcement actions in schools, hospitals, and churches. OUSD is a sanctuary district and they have protocols for staff to follow to keep students and their families protected.
Under the new OUSD ‘protocols for ICE actions and inquiries pamphlet,’ staff can’t, under any circumstances, “provide or offer any information about an individual student, family or employee regardless of the reason given for seeking the information unless directed to by the legal office.”
Employees can also lock all classroom doors. For ICE to even come onto campus, they would need a judicial warrant.
“OUSD being a sanctuary district means that it is meant to uphold an oath to the vulnerable immigrant communities,” said Montera Middle School Principal Latoya Williams in a recent interview. “Being a sanctuary school highlights and celebrates that we support all members of the community and Montera is proud to be a part of this.”
OUSD has been a sanctuary district for nine years, and has no intention of changing.
Williams is also concerned that education is under threat by the Trump administration.
“One other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington D.C,” Trump stated in a video posted on social media in October 2023, where he laid out his vision for education.
The Department of Education oversees the federal education programs. For example, they fund school lunches. Removing this department could result in dismantling many programs that help students, due to lack of funding. Just this week, the DOE cut nearly half of their workforce.
Although local and state funding could cover some of the budget gaps, a loss of federal funding could make the current district budget deficit worse. “We will get through all these times of uncertainty if we can find a way to center love along our journey,” said Williams.